Richard Galliano

BACH ...on accordion / Richard Galliano 4803341

Galliano's playing is both rhythmically crisp and unapologetically seductive, a sinuous line suffused with an aristocratic melancholy drawn from tango and the French bal-musette: a sigh on the bellows, an easing of the reed, drawing the phrase inward while teasing the music forward. (He makes the tango connection explicit with a bandoneon rendition of the familiar "Air on the G String"). It's an expressivity that turns out to be ideally suited to Bach's twisting melodies. Galliano is backed by a warm string quintet for orchestral selections (including violinist Jean-Marc Phillips, who provides vigorous counterpoint in BWV 1060); the chamber dimensions allow individual energies to come through with elegant exuberance. It's to Galliano's credit that the instrumental novelty ends up one of the least interesting things about the album. This is gorgeous stuff.

Record Review /
Matthew Guerrieri,
Boston Globe / 06. July 2010

Galliano, one of the foremost accordionists of our time . . . presents his audience with faithful renderings of the music as Bach wrote it. As in any great orchestral production, the music elevates the listener who is not hearing an accordion, but the works of a master played by a master.

Record Review /
Miss Bob Etier,
Blogcritics / 13. July 2010

Although the Bach Violin Concerto is one of the finest vehicles for the violin, it takes on an exciting new dress with the accordion, and is just as moving a work. . . . The harpsichord concerto also works beautifully on the accordion.

Record Review /
John Sunier,
Audiophile Audition / 22. July 2010

. . . accordionist Richard Galliano turns Bach's music into a soundtrack for a sultry Sunday afternoon. . . This is simply a delightful disc . . . This CD is Bach for the back porch, with a cold beer.

Record Review /
Tom Huizenga,
NPR (Washington) / 14. August 2010

What would Bach think about all this? My guess is that he would like it.